See this issue in color online at www.postcard.org

San Francisco Bay Area Post Card Club

CREATING THE PPIE • LAUREL HILL & CYPRESS LAWN CEMETERIES • G G PARK BANDSTAND • PETALUMA AIR MAIL• HUNTING IN ALAMEDA COUNTY • NPCW 2011

PROGRAM NOTES: California will celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Womenʼs Suffrage on October 10, 2011. The campaign, both for and against, was waged on postcards, then at the height of their Golden Era. Women, as well as men, fought against suffrage for a variety of reasons. How did California women finally get the vote? Using a PowerPoint program, Darlene Thorne will illustrate the obstacles to suffrage, and finally the tactics used successfully in the 1911 election. … Weʼre hoping several dealers will be setting up. There will be at least one box of “never shown before” 10¢ers.PARKING: Car pool, take public transit or come early as parking can be difficult; park in pay lot within the Center gates ($10!), upper free lot on Bay Street or along Marina Green.

May 2011 Next Meeting: Saturday, May 28, 12 to 3 pm Vol. XXVI, No. 3Fort Mason Center, Room C-260

Laguna Street at Marina Boulevard, San Francisco

COVER CARD

Monthly meeting schedule on back cover.Visitors and dealers always welcome.

IN

THIS

ISSUE }

From Dennis OʼRorke comes this crisp real photo of 1930s planting by the front of the 1880s Conservatory in Golden Gate Park—NOT the Hall of Flowers where the Vintage Paper Fair is held. The floral creations, using blooming plants and spray colored succulents, salute and promote local events and organizations.

2 CLUB OFFICERS 2011-2013President:

ED HERNY, 510 428-2500 edphemra(at)pacbell.net

Vice President: KATHRYN AYRES, 415 929-1653 piscopunch(at)hotmail.com

Treasurer/Hall Manager: ED CLAUSEN, 510 339-9116 eaclausen(at)comcast.net

Editor: LEW BAER, 707 795-2650 PO Box 621, Penngrove CA 94951 editor(at)postcard.org

Recording Secretary: Volunteer needed!

Webmaster: JACK DALEY: daley(at)postcard.org

Newsletter Deadline: 5th of each month

MINUTES, April 23, 2011Soft gray skies hinted at the end of the long winterʼs foul weather. A near empty parking lot was also en-couraging. Instead of our usual traffic school neigh-bors, Food Addicts in Recovery was meeting.Cards were brought for sale or trade by Ed Herny, Dave, Lauren and Sophie Parry and Lew Baer.More than the 41 members and guests who signed in were present.Call to order by President Ed Herny at one oʼclock after a long hour of trading and schmoozing.Announcements: Ed Herny offered his Easter, Pass-over and Earth Day greetings and reminded us of the Vintage Paper Fair in Golden Gate Park on May 21 and 22. ... Lew Baer asked visitors to leave their ad-dresses on the sign-in sheet; they will be sent news-letters. ... Jim Neider told that George Epperson sends greetings and hopes to attend the May meeting.Drawing: About a dozen lots, including PPIE cards and a POSTCARD PRICE GUIDE, pleased the winners. Sander Temme, who won tiny postcard earrings, gal-lantly presented them to a damsel in the front row.Show & Tell: Chuck Banneck brought two real photos of aviator Roy N. Francis who was in SF during the PPIE. His family had a garage on Post Street. One card also showed “Sky High” Irving who would jump out of planes (for fun?). ... Darlene Thorne showed and read an ad for Sutro Baths with odd prices (very funny!). ... Deanna Kastler brought one of the beautiful PPIE poster style promo cards. ... Craig Blackstone showed a real photo of the Cre-

ation exhibit taken, perhaps, in Chicago before it was moved to the PPIE. ... Jack Hudson showed a German real photo (RP) of Zeppelin LZ7, the Deutschland, which crashed nine days after its maiden flight. A tiny man standing on a scaffold gave a sense of proportion to the immense propeller. ... Kathryn Ayres showed a book, THE ENGLISHMAN WHO POSTED HIMSELF, about a young man who mailed himself, his bike, a turnip and other odd items in 1892 in order to test British postal regulations. [“Well worth the $16 price” at www.amazon.com.] ... Ed Herny showed a postcard written and signed by Lowell Thomas as a boy, also a valentine postcard with a rhinoceros beetle.There was no further business.

—NOTES TAKEN BY LEW BAER

TREASURER/HALL MANAGER REPORTAs of May 1, 2011 ............................... $4,436.94A reminder to everyone that we will be back in our regular room, C-260, for the May meeting. My continued thanks to everyone who pitches in to help set up and break down the tables and chairs for our meetings. Many hands make light work!

—ED CLAUSEN, TREASURER/HALL MANAGER

WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERSWolfgang Wagener and Leslie Erganian, collectors

of Stanley Piltz - Pictorial Wonderland; approvals welcome.

Daniel M. Salzer and Rebecca Jaffe, collectors: real photos, buildings, world travel, historic sites, avia-tion, transportation, early souvenir cards, linens and earlier. No approvals.

3Patricia Hernandez, a beginning collector who is

chasing vintage SF cards, especially Westwood and St. Francis Wood neighborhoods. Approvals welcome.

POSTCARD CALENDARMay 28-29, Sat-Sun, PORTLAND, OR, Greater

Portland Show, 10000 NE 33rd Drive, 10am to 6 and 4pm+

May 29, Sun, HEALDSBURG, Outdoor antique show on the town square. Free! 8am-4pm*

June 12, Sunday, SAN RAFAEL, Outdoor Antique Market, Veterans ̓Auditorium parking lot, Marin Civic Center, 9am to 3pm.*

June 25-26, Sat-Sun, NORTH KENT, WA, Greater Seattle Postcard Show, Kent Commons, 525 4th Avenue,10am to 6 and 4pm+

Jul 23-24, Sat-Sun, SAN MARINO, San Marino Postcard Show, 3130 Huntington Dr. 10am to 6 and 4pm+

Aug 6-7, Sat-Sun, SAN FRANCISCO, Vintage Pa-per Show, Golden Gate Park, 9th Ave. & Lincoln; Free admission! 10am to 6 and 4pm*+

Aug. 27-28, Sat-Sun, SACRAMENTO, Californiaʼs Capital Show, 6151 H Street, 10am to 5 and 4pm

Aug. 28, Sun, HEALDSBURG, town plaza, 8-4*Sept. 10, Sat, SANTA CRUZ, Central Coast Show,

611 Ocean St. 10am-5pm* Always fun!Sept. 11, Sunday, SAN RAFAEL, Outdoor Antique

Market, Veterans ̓Auditorium parking lot, Marin Civic Center, 9am to 3pm.*

Oct. 15, Sat., WALNUT CREEK., Railroad, Mining & Western Show, 1475 Creekside Dr., 9am-4pm*

Nov. 9-10, Sat-Sun, CONCORD, Vintage Paper Fair, 5298 Clayton Road; 10am to 6 and 4pm*+

Bolded entries are produced by club members.* Ken Prag will be there; let him know what to bring for you; 415 586-9386, kprag(at)planetaria.net+ R&N will have cards and supplies.See cards on sale at SF Antique and Design Mall, 701 Bayshore Blvd.; 415 656-3531Vintage Paper Fair: www.vintagepaperfair.com, 415 814-2330

MEMBER IN ACTION: Postcards rule! Man, I had a blast at the Fresno stamp

show—both days. Took a grandson with me Saturday and dropped him off at the kids corner. He too had a blast. … I bought full sheets, plate blocks, and in-dividual stamps, all at 20% off of face value (I have enough postage now to last me through the afterlife). Nearly every stamp dealer had a few boxes full of postcards, most at a quarter apiece, five for a buck, and some that went for a buck each. One dealer had about 40,000 cards with him. Most everything was $1–$3. I saw cards that were into the hundreds of dollars at his tables, too. A large selection of Hold-to-Lights (HTLs). I spent quite a bit of time there on both days (and money). He was a real nice guy and easy to talk with. I found that he came from the San Fer-nando Valley and was visiting his son whoʼs a priest in Kingsburg. Kingsburg?! I told him that one of our club members is from there and advertises for post-cards of that town. He told me that heʼd already been in and scoured that section for cards. Man, Iʼm sure blessed to be a postcard collector! —Steve Howells [See some of Steveʼs stamp fun on page 15.]HEARD ON TV on an “Inspector Lewis” mystery: “She bribed me with a postcard of a crocodile.”SEE MORE on the page 11 Wiseman event at www.press-democrat.com/article/20110220/COMMUNITY/110229998?Title=History-takes-flight.

ROY N. FRANCIS ̓SF 1915 embla-zoned biplane is a familiar icon of the PPIE. Here, on a brown tone mon-tage postcard from Chuck Banneckʼs collection, we see F r a n c i s g a z i n g heavenward while exhibitionist/para-chutist “Sky High” Irving drifts to the ground.

—LEW

4 March and April Programs:

LAURA ACKLEY onCREATING THE PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITIONWhen introducing our speaker, architectural histo-rian Laura Ackley, Vice President Kathryn Ayres told that this is the fourth presentation on the PPIE that Laura has made to the club. Actually, it is the fourth and fifth as the topic has been split into programs for both March and April. Laura has a new web site, www.SF1915.com. Please visit it to learn more and to sign up for her email notification list.

The projector blazed to light with postcard images: aerial view of the fairgrounds, PPIE promo of a giant Panama hat sailing through the canal, earthquake ruins in San Francisco, site plan of the exposition grounds....

Laura began speaking and kept speaking for over an hour during both the March and April programs. As she did so, images flashed

on the screen and a tremendous amount of detailed information poured forth. [Both programs were so fascinating and so filled with knowledge, that these notes could not be more than an attempt at complete-ness. They should be enough, however, to give us a better understanding of how the fair came to be. If Lauraʼs plans are realized, she will have a book out before the centennial of the PPIE in 2015. Our mes-sages of support will encourage her.]

By the turn of the twentieth century, San Francisco was a wildly burgeoning metropolis. Its business community had great wealth from the gold and silver

mining in the nearby Sierras as well as from the trans-continental railroad that made the East Coast only days by rail—rather than months by ship—away. The town was eager to boast of its successes; the business community was eager for even more success. The world had heard of San Francisco; now, it must see it. A grand celebration should be held.

This was the first talk to be silenced of a San Francisco Worldʼs Fair. The nationʼs unfavorable economy was the cause... this time.

The idea had caught on with some leading busi-nessmen, and, in 1904, the founder of Hale Brothers store proposed raising money immediately for a fair to celebrate the opening of San Francisco, through the canal-to-be, to world trade.

Julius Kahn, a congressman representing San Francisco, proposed a 1913 fair to Congress. But... the events of April 18, 1906—the earthquake and fire that ravaged much of the city—quashed that idea. In view of the depressed economy, one columnist predicted that San Francisco would never recover from the destruction.

A 1907 cover of Sunset magazine showing the Call Building and downtown area “Under Reconstruc-tion” belied that dire prediction, as did before and after views of the Flood Building. Also in 1907, New Orleans began its campaign for an expo celebrating the Panama Canal.

As if the 1906 disaster was not enough, San

Was the city ready for a fair? The 1909 Portola Festival proved that it was. Not your “usual” PPIE Bear in Mind card.

5Francisco was still embroiled in the Mayor Schmitz civic graft trials that began in 1903. By 1908, “boss” Abe Ruef had confessed and was sent off to prison.

By 1909, there were almost a dozen candidate cities vy-ing for the fair—New Orleans, San Fran-cisco, San Diego included. Offering proof that it was up to the job, the city hosted the 1909 Portolá Festival. 480,000 visitors came to San Francisco to celebrate the victory of man over mass destruction.

The campaign for the PPIE was under way! Cel-luloid buttons, editorial cartoons and more fair pro-motional material appeared throughout the city and on our screen. In December 1909, President Taft came out in support of THE Fair being held in San Fran-cisco.

Early in 1910, San Diego reported its campaign for hosting the fair had raised

$1 million. SF, thus far, had nil. A statewide convention was held at Santa Barbara to settle the SF vs. SD battle, but San Diego refused to take part and San Francisco was chosen unanimously as site for the official Panama Canal celebration. The two cities did reach a compact, however: no federal funds would be used for any fair. San Diego agreed to split any state money and to refrain from using

“International.” New Orleans was advertising itself as “The Logical Point” for an exposition.

San Franciscans were motivated now! Stock subscriptions were sold to raise funds, and by June 7, $7.5 million was in the kitty which eventually grew to $17,500,000. Even before that, on May first, a PPIE delegation had left by train for Washington, DC. The New Orleans delegation ar-rived at the capital on May 26 to a not overly warm welcome. New Orleans

New Orleans Logical Point promo Mechanical gem! Ship moves NY to SF through the new canal.

From the 1912 Joys and Glooms set, T. J. Powers, SF

6

was in the lead. The Louisianans argued that they were closer to the center of population, while San Francisco countered that the Crescent City had never repaid the federal loans for the Cotton States Expo.

Back at home the promotion gathered steam. Pin back buttons and poster stamps kept the public cam-paign in everyoneʼs sight. The same was happening in New Orleans. Out west, picture postcards were overprinted with pro-San Francisco fair slogans to emphasize the sights, climate and many hotel rooms of San Francisco and also the deep coffers of the fair organizers. We saw postcards from both San Fran-cisco and New Orleans promoting the expo in their respective cities. And we heard of the mudslinging by both. A San Francisco pamphlet argued that the African American population near New Orleans should not be included as supporters of the Logical Point campaign because of their poverty. [Gasps responded to this locally promulgated racism.]

January 21, 1911: New Orleans leads in Congress, but President Taft still supports San Francisco; it edges ahead.

January 23, 1911: San Francisco runs ads in all major U.S. papers to “Wire President Taft today” in favor of San Francisco.

January 25: New Orleans attempts to delay the vote in Congress.

January 31, 1911, Deci-sion Day: Many Congress-men rise with two minute

speeches in favor of San Francisco. Only one orator harangues for New Orleans: Illinois Congressman William Rodenberg, chairman of the committee on Industrial Arts and Expositions. Initial vote: 188 to 159, in favor of San Francisco; the final vote was still more lopsided.

February 12: After the Senate confirmation of the House vote, New Orleans sends a wire of gracious congratulations to San Francisco Mayor McCarthy.

The next problem: Where to put the PPIE? Several sites had been proposed—Golden Gate Park, the waterfront, Lake Merced, Harbor View, the Presidio, Tanforan, Bayview—and all had supporters.

About the same time that Charles Moore was elected President of the Exposition, the Call of March 14, 1911 reported that the three major sites being considered were Golden Gate Park, Lake Merced and Harbor View. In a newspaper poll, Bayview had been the winner but finished fourth in the actual stand-ings. Lake Merced was also favored, but it was six miles from central San Francisco, and a tunnel under Twin Peaks would be required. Golden Gate Park

had support as it was city owned land with no leases or condemnation processes needed for use as the expo grounds. Immediately, a new campaign began: “Do NOT Destroy Golden Gate Park!” In response, Charles de Young, owner of the San Francisco Chronicle, began his press campaign

Crying crocodile tears all the way back to the swamp

Nyah nyah nyah!

7

for holding the fair in Golden Gate Park.Harbor View was the least expensive site to de-

velop, the most beautiful, was close to the population center, had the best fire protection possibilities... but many of its lots were still under water, merely plotted on parcel maps. A good portion of the submerged real estate was owned by the two daughters of James Fair, who had inherited fabulous Comstock silver wealth from their father.

The result was a “whole city plan” with fairgrounds on all sides of the city connected by railroad lines. This exciting concept was too costly to consider, requiring far more land than a single fairgrounds.

October 14, 1911: the first spadeful of earth was turned over... in Golden Gate Park!

Earth turned or not, Harbor View was still in the running, although Virginia Fair Vanderbilt had said “No” to her lots being used. When eminent domain was threatened as a means to the land, Mrs. Vander-

bilt acquiesced. Three years and four months later, the Panama Pacific International Exposition opened on time and went on to be one of the most successful fairs in U.S. history.

Laura ended this first part of her presentation on “Creating the PPIE” with the fair firmly sited in San Francisco and at Harbor View. As a slide showing the PPIE Court of the Universe faded into darkness, the program ended and the room filled with enthusiastic applause!

A month later, Laura picked up where she had left us. We knew the PPIE was to happen eventually, but we were breathless to know just how it came to be.

From the day in 1904 that Reuben Brooks Hale proposed raising funds for a worldʼs fair in San Francisco, it had been a grueling struggle to make the PPIE possible. Weak economy, earthquake and fire, intense com-petition from New Or-leans and San Diego, then battles within the city over where to hold the fair resulted in a Whole City Plan using sites in civic center, Harbor View, Golden Gate Park and On the Zone looking towards Festival Hall Tower of Jewels and Pizarro

WHOLE CITY PLAN

8

Lake Merced. When this was recognized as too impractical and far too expensive, Harbor View was the final choice. It comprised more than 600 acres, had a shoreline for waterborne services, offered beautiful and expansive views and had good fire protection. The major drawback was that the many property owners of Harbor View made acquisition difficult. More than 400 buildings had to be moved or demolished (including many earthquake shacks) and much of the land had to be filled to raise it above the level of the bay waters that covered it.

Suction dredging began in 1912. Silt and sand from the offshore bay bottom was sucked up and into the now walled off portion of Harbor View. Pilings were driven below the fill to support the main palaces. Edward Bennett designed a block plan for the PPIE, creating a lavish setting with 150 variations. We then saw several artists ̓concepts for the PPIE.

One idea that held interest was for a lasting relic of the fair—what the Palace of Fine Arts was to become. Should it be a tower... a statue... of Junipero Serra... in

Lincoln Park... or a Parthenon atop Telegraph Hill?All the fair structures were timber framed except

the Tower of Jewels, the Palace of Fine Arts and the Palace of Horticulture. Adequate fire protection was vital and was provided by three fire houses in the fairgrounds and a high pressure water system.

Artistic sentiments demanded that the PPIE not be another “White City” as at Chicago. The colors must complement the setting. A Director of Color was named and a color scheme was chosen for everything at the fair: ivory and muted Oriental tones.

Lighting: both gas and electric with spotlights fo-cused on special features; elsewhere indirect lighting would avoid glare.

John McLaren was appointed Chief of Land-scaping. He worked from greenhouses built in the Presidio. Flowering plants were changed three times during the fairʼs run and were chosen to complement the official color scheme. The ice plant covering the 20 foot high sides of the long Hedge Fence that ran for four blocks on the south side of the exposition was spectacular, rising in 36 foot arches over the main entrance.

The Oregon Building provided the Parthenon motif with 48 towering Douglas fir columns. The California Building was the largest state pavilion. The Palace of Fine Arts was the only building to sur-vive in situ. Others were moved—some by barge after the fair closed. The rest were demolished

Framework of the Palace of Machinery

The Inside Inn at the east end of the fairgrounds

9We saw The Zone taking shape—seven city blocks

long of entertainment, food and side shows. A 1914 view showed the Tower of Jewels going up and the Palaces being colored.

Advertising was under the Department of Exploi-tation, and films of construction were used in news-reels across the country. Luminaries—”Plant Wizard” Luther Burbank and President of the University of California Benjamin Ide Wheeler among them—toured to promote the fair. Teams of lecturers traveled the hemisphere promoting the San Francisco fair.

PPIE fact booklets were distributed. Los Angeles advertised itself as the meat in the California Sand-wich between San Francisco and San Diego. As no federal funds were used for the fair, the PPIE did not fulfill the requirements for its own postal cancel, but one was approved by special action.

Opening Day was nearing. What could stymie the fair now? Another cataclysm: 1914 and WW I! Many foreign exhibitors cancelled. Delay the fair? NO!

Within hours preceding the expositionʼs opening time, 10,000 tons of debris were hauled off of the fairgrounds. Suddenly, the slides on the screen came to life, and a film of the opening day parade appeared (courtesy of youtube). President Wilson touched the golden telegraph key in Washington, DC to open the exposition via wireless. Fountains sprang into action as crowds waved and cheered. Their uproar was drowned out by our applause for Laura Ackley and her amazing account of “Creating the PPIE.”

—IMAGES: COURTESY CHUCK BANNECK AND OTHERS—NOTES: LEW BAER

At the PPIE the West lived up to its wild reputation

THE BANDSTAND

Damaged by earthquakes and wearied by a century of weekend pleasure seekers, the bandstand—Spreckels Temple of Music—in Golden Gate Park is an anchor of stability in the midst of recent change. It and the inscrutable sphinxes that once guarded the entry to the forerunner of the de Young museums are all that s̓ left where they were and as they were at the center of the park. Statues have migrated here and there. The new museum is a monument to rust. The rebuilt Academy of Sciences is no longer cozy and familiar. Even the bandstand is nouveau, standing only since 1900 in Concert Valley (the Music Con-course), which was site of the California Mid-winter International Exposition of 1894.The two postcards and cabinet photo are from Dennis OʼRorke s̓ col-lection. —ED.

10 OLD TOMBSTONE TALES:

LAUREL HILL CEMETERY & COLMA’S CYPRESS LAWN CEMETERYby DEANNA L. KASTLER

THIS IS THE STORY of one of the early cemeteries in San Francisco—of how it came to be and how progress erased it. The

postcard images, courtesy of Ed Herny, Frank Sternad and Lew Baer, show what happened to its residents after the turn of the twentieth century.

Four cemeteries were established in the Laurel Hill and Lone Moun-tain area of San Francisco in the 1850s and 1860s. Known as the “Big Four,” they were the Laurel Hill, Calvary, Masonic, and Odd Fellows Cemeteries. Due to health concerns, the cities of the dead were created far from the heart of the living city. Influenced by the grand Victorian traditions of England and the eastern U.S., these cemeteries were designed with park-like settings. Twenty miles of roads followed their hilly con-tours. Although Sunday picnickers enjoyed the view and visits to their deceased loved ones, some complained that funeral processions and mourners spoiled the festive air of their outings.

Laurel Hill Cemetery was established in 1854 on 55.4 acres bounded by California, Euclid, Masonic and Arguello streets. The first of the pioneers to be buried there was John Orr, interred on June 10, 1854, his tombstone was inscribed: “To the Memory of the First Inhabitant of this Silent City.” Other pioneers included attorney and Judge Silas W. Sand-erson, whose marker read: “Final Decree”;

Thomas O. Larkin, first American consul in Mon-terey; David Broderick, anti-slavery U. S. Senator, who was killed in a duel by his pro-Southern political

rival, Supreme Court Justice David Terry; Hugh H. Toland, a U.C.S.F. founding father; “Squire” Clark, who built the first San Francisco wharf; David Scannell, the first sheriff of San Francisco and a color-ful fire chief; Colonel E. D. Baker, a Civil War hero whose funeral was attended by 50,000 people; Com-modore James Watkins, a naval hero; U. S. Senators William M. Stewart, John P. Jones, and James G. Fair; George T. Marve, an early ambassador to Russia; Lorin Pickering, whose family founded the San Francisco Call; Robert P. Woodward, creator of Woodwardʼs Gardens; William B. Bourne; Major

James Van Ness; and Andrew Smith Hallidie, who invented the cable car.

The cry, “Remove the cemeteries!” was first heard in the 1880s, raised chiefly by property owners in the

area and by those who thought the graveyards discouraged develop-ment nearby. The ill cared for grounds of the cemeteries had become a haven for pranksters, juvenile de-linquents and ghouls. By 1900 most of the graves had been filled. In 1902, the Board of Supervisors prohibited further burials within the city and outlawed the sale of cemetery

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lots in the “Big Four.” Henceforth, only cremation and burial of cremated remains were permitted. As further deterioration occurred and only perpetual-care lots could be maintained, new cemetery property was being developed in Colma, just south of the San Francisco city limits.

In 1921, the State Legislature passed the Morris Act, which allowed a cemetery to be abandoned if rat-ified by a majority of lot owners. In 1923, the Second Morris Act was passed, authorizing municipalities to enact ordinances requiring the removal of bodies under “police power” in cemeteries where burial had been prohibited by law for a certain number of years. Then in 1923, the Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance requiring the removal of bodies from the Masonic and Odd Fellow Cemeteries. More litigation followed, but the re-moval began in 1929. It took six years to remove 26,000 Odd Fellows ̓ remains to Greenlawn Memorial Park in Colma, and more than 40,000 bod-ies were removed from Masonic Cemetery to Woodlawn.

The Catholic Arch-diocese ended its op-position to the remov-al of the remains from Calvary in 1937 and 55,000 bodies were

moved to Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma.At Laurel Hill there was much opposition because

many San Francisco pioneers were buried there, but finally disinterment and removal was authorized.

In the early 1890s Hamden Noble became aware of Laurel Hillʼs pending problems and opened a new cemetery, called Cypress Lawn, in Colma. It was founded in 1892 and incorporated in 1894. This beautiful new garden cemetery was created with an Endowment Care Trust to ensure its future care, something that Laurel Hill did not have. Laurel Hill and Cypress Lawn worked together for the removal of the remains to their new home.

Plans to create a five-acre memorial park on Laurel Hill died due to lack of public support. Meanwhile, beginning on February 26, 1940 and lasting about 16

months, the contents of more than 35,000 graves were removed to Cypress Lawn. Re-mains were placed in various sizes of red-wood boxes and taken by hearse the same day to Colma, where they were kept for six years in Cypress Abbey Mausoleum because World War II delayed construction of a new resting place. Over 1,000 bodies were in-terred privately.Spanish fountainBaby crypts

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Urn Garden (Garden of Meditation)—Developed as a per-manent resting place for cremated remains. This secluded sanctuary, unexcelled in beauty, forms part of the landscap-ing of the adjacent world famous catacombs.

Cypress Lawn s̓ Heritage Newsletter of Spring 2010 describes the removal and memorial:

”Laurel Hill s̓ trustees had originally planned an elaborate above-ground public mausoleum to serve as a monu-ment to all San Francisco pioneers. Because of exorbitant construction costs following the Second World War, the plan did not see fruition. Instead, underground concrete vaults were built where remains were placed in labeled boxes. Members of the same family from the same burial plot at Laurel were placed in individual containers and placed in the same numbered vault. The area was named Laurel Hill Mound and was dedicated on May 4, 1954.

“The memorial to the pioneers of San Francisco consists of a four-sided towering obelisk topped by a pyramid symbolic of the sun and eternal life designed by Vladimir Oslou in 1952. Towards the southwest of this obelisk is the bronze sculpture of a family group representing California pioneers, backed by a semi-circular wall of aggregate cement decorated with symbols of the westward movement sculpted in relief, created by Francis Minturn Sedgewick in 1955. There is also a commemorative concrete wall on the northwest side of the obelisk with a bronze memorial plaque on the east side and a marble relief

of Father Time on the west side.”Once the entire removal process had

been completed, the tombstones were broken into pieces and used as paving materials for gutters lining the walks of Buena Vista Park, and tombstone fragments were used in construction of the breakwater and Wave Organ near the St. Francis Yacht Club.

The San Francisco cemeteries are gone, and only the Pioneerʼs Memorial Plaque (at the entrance to UCʼs Laurel Hill campus) and the green-domed Columbarium remain as tangible re-minders of this areaʼs past. However, lest we forget, the Laurel Hill Mound

at Cypress Lawn is dedicated to the memory of San Franciscoʼs pioneers.

Let us remember that the muddy roads to the ceme-teries were not the only problem a funeral procession might encounter. In a Territorial Enterprise editorial Mark Twain lambasted an avaricious undertaker for his practice of charging for a corpse to pass through the toll gate on the road to Laurel Hill Cemetery. “If you or I owned that toll road, we would be satisfied with the revenue from a long funeral procession. If a corpse starts to Paradise or perdition by their road, he has got to pay his toll or else switch off and take some other route.” Let us hope progress will not obscure our cemetery history.[Ed s̓ Note: More by Deanna on San Francisco cem-eteries in the March 2006 newsletter.]

Marking the sunny hours but not the shadowed years.

13NORTH BAY AERONAUT

Keeping in formation with the cover cards, weʼll look at a few more images from the AVIATION category.

The centennial of the first—if not officially rec-ognized—air mail flight in the U.S. was celebrated and reënacted from Petaluma to Santa Rosa this February. Postcards hailed the February 1911 event, and a new—if oversized—postcard commemorates the anniversary, as does a privately designed “stamp,” newly permitted by the USPS.

In 1910, Fred Wiseman, an avid bicyclist and auto racer, along with three friends, hand built a wood and fabric biplane. It incorporated ideas from the Wright Bros. and others, but no formal plans were used. Wisemanʼs first public flight was near Santa Rosa at a claimed 70 mph! Early the next year, he flew it in a race at San Francisco, and then, on February 17 and 18, he made the historic “first airmail flight” between Petaluma and Santa Rosa—a distance of 13 miles. Along with some newspapers, he carried coffee and letters from prominent Peta-lumans to others in Santa Rosa, including at least one letter from the local Postmaster. He made other exhi-bition flights before he retired from flying in 1912.

Wisemanʼs February 1911 flight was hailed by the Smithsonian Institution in 1947 as the first airmail flight in the U.S. This title is clouded because the flight was not sanctioned by the Post Office Depart-ment, nor has evidence been found of actual mail having been carried. His derring-do, however, is recognized by local historians, and his plane has been part of the National Air & Space Museum since 1948. Fred Wiseman died at age 83 in 1961.

Fred Wiseman above Denman Flat, Petaluma; 1910

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A centennial reënactment of the flight took place on February 19. Historic impersonators filled the

roles of Wiseman and the local dignitaries. A 1930s era Stearman bi-plane carried a mail sack with unfranked letters from Petaluma to Santa Rosa.

Bill Hammerman, an SFBAPC club member and historical enthusiast, was a leader of the com-mittee for the centennial celebration. Dorothy

DeMare, another clubster, escorted Fredʼs grand niece to the three-day event, and the two of them made the flight in a contemporary plane.

At the March club meeting, Dor-othy (left) donated mementos of the recent celebration for the club draw-ing. Ruth Hanham (right) was the hap-py winner.

—ED.

14 SMOKE SIGNAL

Someone asked me the other day if I had ever smoked. FLASH! I was on the Sausalito ferry, 2:30 pm, coming home from work, July 2, 1966. I did it... there and then! I put the half full pack of Pall Malls down. And didnʼt look back. I had known it would happen when, at an office Christmas party the Domino Club machine demanded $1, and I submitted. Soon they were up to a quarter everywhere; no more sales at $1.15 a carton. When asked for a cigarette, I now said, that I didnʼt smoke—without a “sorry.” I had two lapses, both with GITANES in Paris. They were harsh and no longer smelled of romance, and both times the few puffs ruined our dinner.... in Paris!

Back to 2011: FLASH! While sorting a box of unfiled cards I came across a cache of smok-ing propaganda—just enough to fill this half empty column. —ED.

NILES CANYON BIG-GAME HUNTERby JAMES SAUER

A major area of collecting for me is Washington Township in southern Alameda County which com-prises the present day Fremont, Newark and Union City. The collection is about half postcards and half covers. There are numerous interesting pieces, and this card is one of my favorites.

The subject is W. W. Clark, would be big game hunter and photographer. Sent to a Harry Knight, Jr. in Oakland, the card is dated July 22, 1908. While it is franked with a one-cent Franklin from the 1902-3

definitive series, it was never posted—too bad.The card reads:

Niles Canyon, July 22-08. Hello Har-ry:—Just a postal to say that myself and companion are hav-ing a grand old time out here. Niles Can-yon is more beautiful than I had antici-pated and in conse-quence I have taken some fine pictures.

Hunting and fishing is great sport here but so far we haven t̓ bagged any big game. This view is not a sample of some of the fine pictures I have taken.

Yours, W.W.ClarkWe may laugh or scoff at the “big game” usage,

but in 1908 Mr. Clark could very well have en-countered a California brown bear, mountain lion, elk or any number of smaller critters starting with

My throat felt like tinsel.

deer, raccoons (some folks still eat them), etc. The only problem is the pop-gun heʼs wielding; he would be lucky to bag a squirrel with it, and shooting a bear would likely cost him his life.

I know that some club members are researching photographers from this era and before; I would be interested in finding out if our Mr. W.W. Clark was a professional or an amateur.

hjamessauer(at)yahoo.com

15NATIONAL POSTCARD WEEK

The first NPCW cards to arrive were from Hal Ottaway and the Wichita club. Both were designed by Rick Geary (www.rickgeary.com). Hal is eager to trade for your NPCW card (or just a 44¢ stamp) to the address below the new duchess ̓finger. Bobbi Mastrangelo, the manhole cover sculptor, sent the club a card of her recent Ford Water Meter Box Cover. Steve and Patti Howellʼs photo card impresses with organizational prowess and stamp encrusted back; Stephenʼs Meats proclaims the San Jose Postcard Clubʼs greetings; on our card, Janetʼs drawing shows Ed. and artist relaxing while surrounded by postcards and their topics.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA POST CARD CLUBAPPLICATION FOR NEW MEMBERSHIP

RENEWALS: List name and changes onlyIndividual/Family $15 [ ] Supporting $25 or more [ ] Out of USA $25/35 [ ]

Name:

Family members:

Address:

e-mail: Phone:

Collector [ ] Dealer [ ] Approvals welcome: Yes [ ] No [ ]

Collecting interests:

Join online at www.postcard.org and remit by PayPal or…send membership info and your check payable to SFBAPCC

to PO Box 621, Penngrove CA 94951 5/11

newsletters dating from march 2003 are archived in color at www.postcard.org

2011 MEETINGSMay 28June 25July 23

August 20September 24

October 22November 26